"Don't let the government shutdown because the consequences of that are going to hurt the Republicans, not the Democrats and the Republicans can't win this battle when it gets down to it," Huckabee said Friday on the Fox Business Network. "I think it's important that the Republicans don't jeopardize all of their chances for both the White House, Senate and the House elections in 2012 by arguing over what amounts to less than a penny."FULL POST

(CNN) - Waukesha County vote totals may have caused a stir in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election Thursday, but as vote results from additional counties become official, Justice David Prosser continues to lead JoAnne Kloppenburg.

The results from Waukesha County became official Friday, and were added to the Wisconsin state Government Accountability Board's website of officially reporting counties. Ballots from the city of Brookfield that had been left out of unofficial vote totals were discovered, changing the final vote tally and swinging results in the favor of Prosser in that county.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Nine female Senate Democrats stood grimly together Friday afternoon in a move to ramp up pressure on House Republicans and force a compromise on the budget.

"We are heading to a shutdown not because of a debate over money, not because of a debate over cuts but because Republicans continue to push a radical agenda against women," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland.FULL POST

Lynchburg, Virginia (CNN) - As one Republican advised Donald Trump to stop questioning President Obama's birthplace – another Republican laughed off Trump's queries and said Friday that the real estate mogul is "inventive" as he "hangs out" in the Republican Party.

After speaking at a conservative conference at Liberty University, Newt Gingrich spoke about the reality TV star turned potential GOP presidential candidate. One question he was asked: what does he think of Trump saying he's sent investigators to Hawaii to dig into claims that the president was not born there?FULL POST

Lynchburg, Virginia (CNN) – The last Republican House speaker to battle a Democratic president as the government neared a shutdown described Friday what the behind-the scenes situation probably looks like, now, just hours before government operations could go dark.

"I think there are a lot of people who are tired, and really focused on trying to figure if they can avoid having a shut down," Newt Gingrich said on Friday to reporters regarding round-the-clock negotiations. His comments came after he delivered a speech at The Awakening conference at Liberty University.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Calling President Obama's handling of the budget showdown "appalling," Sarah Palin is adding her voice to GOP clamor that he is playing politics with the U.S. military in an effort to get his way on spending.

In a posting on Facebook Friday, Palin blasts Obama for his refusal to sign a Republican-backed bill that aimed to cut spending by $12 billion and fund the Pentagon for the remainder of the current fiscal year.FULL POST

(CNN) - Fresh off scoring a meeting with Donald Trump, Arizona State Rep. Carl Seel says the business mogul is "very supportive" of his proposed so-called "birther bill" that would require any presidential candidate to prove that he or she was, in fact, born in the United States.

"Mr. Trump is very supportive of my bill to just simply require anyone running for president, or, in the case of Arizona, anyone running for any office, to show that they're lawfully qualified to run," Seel told reporters after his meeting with the potential Republican presidential candidate.FULL POST

Greenville, South Carolina (CNN) - Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, will deliver a commencement address at the University of South Carolina on May 7, a university spokeswoman confirmed Friday.

It's Huntsman's second scheduled appearance in an early presidential primary state: the former Utah governor is also slated to deliver the commencement address at the University of Southern New Hampshire on May 21.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Likely Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Friday laid the blame of a possible government shutdown squarely on the feet of President Obama, saying the commander-in-chief is intentionally holding U.S. troops "hostage" so Democrats can prevail in the budget showdown.

"Let's be clear," Gingrich said during a speech at Liberty University Friday. "President Obama is deliberately seeking to hold the men and women in uniform hostage so the politicians can fight over the budget and use the threat of not paying the troops their weapon."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - In the event of a government shutdown, the paychecks for millions of non-essential federal workers, members of the military and some in Congress will be delayed - or not even come at all.